Binance converting $1 billion in BUSD to bitcoin, ether and BNB

Quick Take

  • Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced the exchange’s plans to convert $1 billion from its Industry Recovery Initiative funds to native crypto assets.
  • The announcement follows a wild weekend for U.S. banks.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced on Twitter that the foremost crypto exchange would convert the approximately $1 billion remaining from its Industry Recovery Initiative funds to native crypto assets — precisely, bitcoin, ether and BNB.

The cryptocurrencies will be purchased using the exchange's dollar-pegged stablecoin, BUSD.

Zhao — who is widely known by his initials, CZ — shared that, for transparency, some of the transactions will occur on-chain.

Crypto unbanked

The $1 billion conversions to native crypto assets come amid a banking crisis that captured the United States' attention over the weekend.

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Last night, the New York Department of Financial Services seized what was widely considered the last crypto-friendly bank, Signature Bank, citing systematic risks — effectively cutting the crypto industry off from banks in the country. 

The move coincides with the Federal Reserve's creation of a Bank Term Funding Program, which — on fears of a broader economic impact — will lend money to Silicon Valley Bank and ensure deposits beyond $250,000 are accessible. Silicon Valley Bank's collapse is the second-largest in the country's history.

"Took 15 seconds and costs $1.29," CZ tweeted, citing a movement of funds worth over $980 million. "Imagine moving $980 million through a bank before banking hours on a Monday."


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About Author

Adam is the managing editor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is based in central Europe and was a managing editor and podcast host at the crypto exchange OKX's former research arm, OKX Insights. Before that, he co-founded BeInCrypto.com, which he elevated into one of the leading crypto media brands at its peak as the editor-in-chief. Earlier, he served as the editor-in-chief at Bitcoinist.com. Before joining the blockchain and crypto industry, he worked for Looper.com, Grunge.com and SVG.com. He tweets via @XBT002 and can be emailed at [email protected].

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